‘It was a good season!’
Plenty to celebrate as Kingston CC reflect on highs...and a few lows
DESPITE having their spirit dented when they faltered at the last hurdle of the Senior Cup competition, Kingston Cricket Club (CC) can reflect on a season in which they also had plenty success.
Kingston CC batsman Romaine Morris topped the runs chart during the 2023 campaign which ended nearly two weeks ago.
The 27-year-old left-hander, who also keeps wicket, scored his fourth century of the season — a well-constructed 147 that took him to 639 runs in the competition — but was left in despair when St Catherine CC took first-innings honours in the drawn final and lifted the Senior Cup title.
In reply to Kingston’s patiently accumulated 319, which was built around Morris’ knock, St Catherine CC motored to 333-8 before the two-day championship match at Sabina Park was called off.
“I thought it was a really good season, I can’t really complain. I started the season on the weaker side but after getting my first century I built on that and got some more centuries, which I am very grateful for,” Morris, the former St Elizabeth Technical High School student who hails from Whitehouse, Westmoreland, said.
“It’s unfortunate and I’m disappointed we never won the title, but it’s a part of the game and it’s life, so I just have to accept that and move on,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Aside from Morris’s individual brilliance, Kingston, as a collective, were outstanding all season. Their achievement was all the more impressive because they were without three top players at significant moments.
Marquee batsman Brandon King only played two matches — both at the preliminary stage — due to West Indies duty and his engagement in the HeadleyWeekes Tri Series in Antigua.
Left-handed top-order batsman Kirk Mckenzie also missed crucial matches, including the final, because he featured in the Tri Series.
All-rounder Andre Bailey, one of this season’s standout players with two centuries and 18 wickets, missed the St Catherine clash as well due to his participation in a Twenty20 (T20) tournament in Antigua.
While Kingston missed out on the main prize, skipper Akim Fraser said the positives augur well for the future.
“It’s been a very good season, and we’ve played good cricket all season. This was the only game that we lost first innings all season, so that’s disappointing to have that bad game here.
“But how we’ve played and having people stepping up at different times, I’m pleased with that for us going forward, growing from strength to strength,” Fraser, the national team spinner, explained.
Later this season the Jamaica Cricket Association is expected to host a 50-over-per-side competition in addition to a T20 tournament.